goldspotted eel
Myrichthys ocellatus (Lesueur, 1825)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The goldspotted eel (Myrichthys ocellatus), also known as the goldspotted snake eel or the dark-spotted snake eel, is an eel in the family Ophichthidae (worm/snake eels). It was described by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1825, originally under the genus Muraenophis. It is a marine, tropical eel which is known from the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda, southern Florida, USA; the Bahamas, Santa Catarina, and Brazil. It dwells at a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 ft), and inhabits rocky and coral reefs. It can reach a maximum total length of 110 cm (3.6 ft).
The Goldspotted eel is a commercial aquarium fish. As is common with eels, it forages for food mostly during the night; its diet consists of crabs, stomatopods, and echinoderms.
Wikipedia contributors, Goldspotted eel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:01:41.058667+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Myrichthys ocellatus (Lesueur, 1825)
- Name authority
- (Lesueur, 1825)
- Common name
- goldspotted eel
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anguilliformes
- Family
- Ophichthidae
- Genus
- Myrichthys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnguilliformes
- familyOphichthidae Günther, 1870
- subfamilyOphichthinae Günther, 1870
- genusMyrichthys Girard, 1859
- speciesMyrichthys ocellatus (Lesueur, 1825)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Myrichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Myrichthys pardalis (Valenciennes, 1839) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| longfin spotted snake eelMyrichthys aspetocheiros McCosker & Rosenblatt, 1993 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| sharptail eelMyrichthys breviceps (Richardson, 1848) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| harlequin snake-eelMyrichthys colubrinus (Boddaert, 1781) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tiger snake-eelMyrichthys maculosus (Cuvier, 1816) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrichthys magnificus (Abbott, 1860) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Clarion snake eelMyrichthys pantostigmius Jordan & McGregor, 1898 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tiger snake eelMyrichthys tigrinus Girard, 1859 | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Myrichthys xysturus (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) | OphichthidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Myrichttys oculatus (Kaup, 1856) (Kaup, 1856) | synonym |
| Pisodonophis oculatus Kaup, 1856 Kaup, 1856 | synonym |
| Muraenophis ocellata Lesueur, 1825 Lesueur, 1825 | synonym |
| Myrichthys keckii Silvester, 1915 Silvester, 1915 | synonym |
| Myrichthys oculatus (Kaup, 1856) (Kaup, 1856) | synonym |
| Ophisurus latemaculatus Poey, 1867 Poey, 1867 | synonym |
| Ophichthus ocellatus (Lesueur, 1825) (Lesueur, 1825) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=275486 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:458HS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.